In message
of
Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:59:45 in uk.transport.london, "
writes

[snip]

The board is controlled from the signal computer at Baker Street. The
computer decides it's "moves" in advance, then updates the information
board. It then recalcuates the best moves and if it decides it's first
choice was wrong, changes them, but doesn't always update the board.
There is a project to upgrade both the board itself and the amount of
updates provided by the computer, but I haven't heard any news
recently as to when this will happen. From what I recall, the new
board will display the scheduled departure time of the the trains,
which should make life a little easier for regular customers to plan
which train to head for.

I complained about the situation in May 2007. I got a reply from which I
quote (my complaint probably predates the "send me a copy of my
communication" facility:

[snipped patronising preamble]

train service reliability. The problem is that the standard of train
information provided by the boards is not adequate enough to give
customers sufficient time to catch a train. The reason for this is that
these information boards are quite old and are not compatible with the
present signaling system on the Metropolitan line.

The good news is that there are plans to upgrade Aldgate station,
starting next year. The project includes the installation of new dot
matrix boards that will give the times when trains are due to
arrive/depart at a particular platform. Hopefully, this will mean that
the risk of customers who are unable to catch a train will be reduced.

We recognise that communication is of paramount importance and with
this in mind, if station staff are aware of a train that will depart
from a particular platform, they are expected to make an appropriate
and timely public address announcement. I've passed your comments to a
senior manager responsible for staff at Aldgate to make him aware of
your complaint, and to remind staff of our standards of communication.

I responded: "My understanding from the Station Supervisor (name
snipped) at Aldgate is that signal staff at Baker Street set a message
to customers and a signal to a driver without a suitable interval. Your
reply ignores this suggestion. Do you not want to address it? "

Robin Mayes gave a technical description consistent with the view
expressed by the Station Supervisor.

I got back:
First of all, I would explain that the comments made by the station
supervisor are inaccurate. I was informed by our Service Control
Manager that the situation you've described is not due to the actions
of our signalling staff. Train service information is fed automatically
to the information boards via the computerised signalling system
without human interaction.

I then gave up. Plainly bucks are being passed. I rarely use Aldgate. I
suggest those who do regularly enter there should complain to the duty
station supervisor and follow up to Customer Services and London
Travelwatch.
--
Walter Briscoe